Rotator cuff tears of the shoulder: how long should you immobilize the shoulder?

2014-06-06 09:20:35

A rotator cuff tear is an injury to one of the tendons of rotator cuff muscles. It can include any type of irritation or damage to these muscles and is one of the most common conditions affecting the shoulder. Some animal studies have shown better healing with a longer duration of protection without motion exercise after rotator cuff repair. A new study assessed the effect of immobilization following rotator cuff repair and sought to determine whether there was any difference in clinical outcome related to the duration of immobilization ⁽¹⁾.

In the study, 100 patients who underwent arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff were randomized to be treated with immobilization for four or eight weeks. During the immobilization, no passive or active range-of-motion exercises were allowed. 88 patients were evaluated clinically with MRI postoperatively, after exclusion of 12 patients without a postoperative evaluation. The researchers compared range of motion, clinical scores, and retear rates between the groups. The results showed that at follow-up approximately 3 years later, the two groups showed no differences in range of motion or clinical scores. However, the proportion showing stiffness was higher in the eight-week group. As a result, the researchers suggest limiting immobilization to only 4 weeks.